A Kenyan researcher and conservationist has been awarded the prestigious World Ecology Award, highlighting the country's longstanding commitment to the environment.
Dr. David Western, a former Kenya Wildlife Service director and founder of the African Conservation Center in Kenya, will receive the 2010 World Ecology Award from the Harris World Ecology Center at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
The award is presented to an eminent individual who has raised public awareness about global ecology and made significant contributions to environmental protection and biodiversity conservation. Previous recipients include Ted Turner and John Denver.
Dr. Western has spent more than 42 years engaged in research in Kenya studying the interactions between livestock, wildlife and humans, with the aim of developing conservation strategies applicable at an ecosystem scale.
In accepting the honor, Dr. Western commended the Kenyan government's commitment to conservation.
"Eight percent of our land is set aside for national parks and we still have lots of wildlife that migrates freely," said Dr. Western. "Very few other countries have that."
During his helm at the KWS, he introduced an eco-tourism concept known as "Parks Beyond Parks," which allowed people to live in harmony with the animals as they benefit from the proceeds from the parks.
Kenyan Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai lauded Western for his persistence: "People with such dreams and convictions have a fire which you cannot put out."
